50 Worst Mistakes Ever Made

50 Worst Mistakes Ever Made

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Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the greatest historical, financial, and technological blunders of all time.

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Before Deepwater Horizon, the Exxon Valdez oil spill was the largest in American history, dumping more than 10 million gallons into Alaska’s Prince William Sound. But this accident was far less complex and is attributed almost entirely to human error. Shortly after midnight on March 24, 1989, the tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef, puncturing eight of its eleven cargo holds. At the time, Captain Joe Hazelwood was below decks, sleeping off “two or three vodkas” he had consumed earlier. Furthermore, the crew was overworked and exhausted, contributing to third mate Gregory Cousins driving the vessel into the reef. Part of the blame also reportedly lay on the Exxon Shipping Company for failing to maintain the ship’s Collision Avoidance System.

Mexico Attacks the Alamo

In 1836, the Texas Revolution was underway, with the Anglo-American residents of Texas fighting for independence from the Mexican Republic. They were successful, winning 10 years of independence before joining the United States in 1846. During the war, Mexican forces under General Antonio López de Santa Anna laid siege to the Alamo. After 13 days, roughly 1,500 Mexican soldiers launched a decisive attack, overwhelming the garrison of about 200 Texians after three attempts. It was a pyrrhic victory though, as the merciless bloodshed inspired many to join the Army, hoping to take revenge for the loss of their fellow Texians. Mere weeks later, a now fortified Texian army attacked the Mexicans by surprise in the Battle of San Jacinto, decimating them in just 18 minutes.

Byzantine Refusal to Hire Orban

The Roman Empire’s final two centuries were their most difficult. By 1452, the Ottoman Empire already had its eyes on Constantinople, which prompted Hungarian siege engineer Orban to offer his cannons to the Romans. Unfortunately, they couldn’t afford his services or provide the materials needed to construct his weapons. So Orban took his business to the Ottomans, who happily took him on. He crafted the basilic, one of the largest cannons in history, requiring 90 oxen and 400 men to transport it. Its cannonballs, each weighing 1200 pounds, devastated the Theodosian Walls, which were impenetrable for about 800 years prior. The Ottoman Sultan also carried warships across the land, bypassing the harbor’s great chain, and giving them another huge advantage.

Heavy Submarines

Maybe they are designed to reach astonishing depths, but that’s no good if your submarine is incapable of surfacing again. That’s exactly what happened to the doomed Isaac Peral class of Spanish submarine when designers realized that somebody at some point had carelessly left a decimal point in the wrong place. The sub was 100 tons heavier than it should be, meaning that if it submerged, it would never be able to return to the surface. Thankfully, the sub hadn’t yet been built, so the schematics were changed to make it longer and capable of supporting all that extra weight. Except, then there was another problem: the sub was now too large to fit into the port where it was being constructed.

New Coke

In 1985, about a century after Coca-Cola first hit shelves, Coke decided to mix things up and rework the tried-and-tested Coke formula. The result was New Coke, one of the biggest marketing fails and disasters of all time. The simple fact was that nobody really liked New Coke. Coke wanted to make its drink taste more like Pepsi, which is a little sweeter than Coke, and it was a resounding failure. Though we understand trying to corner Pepsi’s share of the market, consumer capitalism is about choice; nobody wants to choose from two identical colas. There was just no reason for Coke to try and destroy its own business by changing the recipe.

Inaccurately Describing the Zodiac Killer

The self-named Zodiac Killer held northern California in a state of terror in the late 1960s. The serial killer taunted police by sending multiple letters and ciphers to the local press. Zodiac eluded authorities for a year before narrowly escaping capture in 1969. After shooting San Francisco taxi driver Paul Stine, Zodiac was able to flee the scene because the physical description provided to police officers over dispatch was wrong. This mistake enabled Zodiac to walk directly by two police officers who unwittingly allowed the killer to escape. Investigators did not connect the shooting to Zodiac until the San Francisco Chronicle received a letter from the killer bragging about the murder and his close brush with the officers.

Pickett’s Charge

Confederate General Robert E. Lee made the biggest mistake of his life on July 3, 1863 when he ordered his troops to charge on Cemetery Ridge. There were several flaws in Lee’s plan. Union General George G. Meade had anticipated Lee’s attack on the center of his lines, rather than the flanks, and concentrated his defenses there. The charge exposed Confederate soldiers to heavy artillery and rifle fire, and the army suffered catastrophic casualties. It effectively crippled the Confederate forces at Gettysburg and forced Lee to abandon the battle and retreat from the North. With this one simple charge, the tide of the American Civil War permanently shifted - all to the detriment of Lee and his forces.

The Wanggongchang Explosion

Gunpowder has been used by China since the 9th century. Despite centuries of use and refinement, Beijing officials were criminally negligent in the spring of 1626. It never seemed to occur to anyone in power that the center of a densely populated city wasn't the best choice for storing volatile materials. Late on the morning of May 30th, for reasons which remain unclear, the Wanggongchang armory exploded. Everything within four square kilometers was all but obliterated and debris was launched across the length of the city. Somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 people were killed, and large swaths of the city were utterly destroyed.

Kim Jong-nam Goes to Tokyo Disneyland

Kim Jong-nam was once the heir to the North Korean dictatorship, until 2001 when he made an embarrassing attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland. Traveling on a fake Dominican Republic passport bearing a Chinese name, Kim was arrested upon arrival in Japan and deported to China. The incident deeply embarrassed his father, Kim Jong Il, and caused him to be shunned by his family. Ultimately, his younger half-brother, Kim Jong Un, took over from their father. In 2017, Kim was assassinated in Malaysia, and it was later revealed that he had been a CIA informant. He also supported reform and free market policies, which apparently contributed to him being passed over. Had he never attempted that fateful trip, perhaps North Korea’s trajectory might have been different.

Circulating Inaccurate Suspect Sketches

It’s been over 135 years since Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of London’s Whitechapel district, but the infamous murderer continues to enthrall the public. Beginning in August 1888, the killer claimed five lives in a vicious spree that is still widely discussed and debated. As publicity mounted about the killings, police struggled under mounting pressure from the press. In an attempt to elicit help from the public, police made a critical error when they allowed the press to publish artist renderings of the killer. Unfortunately, the sketches weren’t based on witness descriptions. They were simply the artist’s interpretation of how a deranged killer may look. The drawings resulted in a flood of useless tips, further straining the already overwhelmed detectives.

Ronald Wayne Sells Out

Hindsight is 20-20, which is why this error stings so much. Back in ’76, businessman Ronald Wayne met Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and initially thought they had something with their fledgling computer company. Wayne went in with a 10% stake in Apple, but it wasn’t to last: less than two weeks on and he’d lost faith, selling those shares back to the company’s founders. As we all know, Apple went on to become one of the biggest companies and electronic manufacturers in the entire world, with over a billion “active iPhones” as of 2021. What we wouldn’t give for a time machine to the 70s so we could invest in the Apple shares Ron Wayne gave up!

Wrong Trains

We’ve seen submarines too big for their ports, but what about trains too wide for their platforms? That’s what happened in France in 2014 when France’s national rail company SNCF put in an order for 2000 brand-new trains. The trains would fit many big, metropolitan stations like Paris’s newer infrastructure, but in rural France, the platforms were too narrow. This all happened because somebody at the French Rail Network gave SNCF the wrong measurements. SNCF was left trying to secretly widen the affected stations, but eventually, the error was made public. The trains themselves cost around $20 billion and modifying the platforms has cost over $60 million.

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

A multitude of factors went into the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. A central mistake was the failure to correctly respond to the signs of impending disaster. Pressure tests indicated that the well was not properly sealed, but the readings were misinterpreted. This error was compounded by a rush to complete the drilling operation, driven largely by cost-cutting pressures, leading to the decision to proceed with the operation despite warning signs. The sequence of failures ultimately triggered the calamitous explosion that killed eleven people and sent 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
“Star Wars” Billions
In the mid-70s, nobody knew that “Star Wars” was going to become one of the biggest pop-culture properties in history. Production was expensive, difficult, and ran George Lucas into the ground. Not seeing its potential, 20th Century Fox made a deal with Lucas that he’d receive the royalties from merchandise sales. What followed set a new standard for merchandisable franchises, giving Lucas a personal fortune to the tune of billions of dollars. It was a grave error on the part of Fox, and saw the studio miss out on an absolutely obscene amount of money in the decades between “Star Wars’” release in theaters and Lucasfilms being acquired by Disney.

Angering Genghis Khan

Many words can be used to describe Genghis Khan, one of history's most successful conquerors, but “cool-headed” isn’t one of them. In less than two years, Genghis annihilated the Khwarazmian Empire. While there were a variety of factors that contributed to this invasion, the main one was an insult to his ambassadors. In 1218, the Khan sent a caravan to the Empire, who were arrested and executed, on suspicion of being spies. When Genghis sent diplomats to deal with the situation, the Khwarazmians refused to comply and beheaded the chief envoy. By 1221, their empire was shattered, and they had suffered somewhere between two and 15 million casualties. Maybe think twice before you insult one of history’s most ambitious conquerors.

Napoleon Invades Russia

In 1812, Napoleon famously declared war on Russia, citing their refusal to comply with the Continental System. He brought around half a million soldiers from all across Europe to the border, and proceeded to march them to Moscow. The Russian defense was confused, with no planned resistance, with their eventual scorched earth tactic being largely improvised. At the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon abandoned his usual cunning tactics and ordered a direct assault instead. The French won and Moscow was taken, but Little Boney never received the peace deal he expected. Eventually winter took hold, and Napoleon embarked upon one of history’s most disastrous retreats, costing him his army and, ultimately, his empire.

Forgetting About Time Zones Hamstrung the Bay of Pigs Invasion

During the Cold War, the US backed numerous coup d'états around the world. While several of these succeeded in installing new regimes, attempts in Cuba failed spectacularly. Worried about Prime Minister Fidel Castro’s communist policies, in 1961 the CIA orchestrated the infamous Bay of Pigs Invasion - landing Cuban counter-revolutionaries on the country’s southwestern coast. However, an obvious paint job on a B-26 bomber, disguised to look Cuban, gave away US involvement to the world - leading President Kennedy to pull back air support. A few days later, a last ditch bombing raid flying out of Nicaragua was botched when bombers were caught without their escort of fighter jets. Embarrassingly, someone had forgotten the one hour difference between Nicaragua and Cuba.

The Cedar Fire

Imagine accidentally starting a fire that burns over 270,000 acres of land and kills 15 people. The guilt would be unimaginable. Sergio Martinez was a novice hunter who got lost in the Cuyamaca Mountains of southern California in October 2003, and started a fire to signal potential rescuers. But the flames quickly spread to the nearby chaparral, and he lost control of the fire. The low humidity and Santa Ana winds exacerbated the destruction, and the fire burned through 273,000 acres of San Diego County. Nearly 3,000 buildings were destroyed and 15 people lost their lives. Martinez was given five years’ probation and 960 hours of community service.

Attempting to Force a Confession

The grisly 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short is one of the most notorious cold cases in American history. Dubbed the Black Dahlia by the media because of her dark hair and affinity for black clothing, Short was a young aspiring actress. The case was heavily publicized. By most accounts, the LAPD put extensive effort into solving the case, conducting numerous interviews, and identifying multiple suspects. However, they faced intense public pressure to capture the killer. When they narrowed in on Leslie Dillon, investigators were certain he was responsible. Trying to force a confession from Dillon, LAPD’s “Gangster Squad” illegally detained him. In response, Dillon filed a lawsuit against the department. The case ultimately landed in front of a grand jury and then went cold.

Quaker Buys Snapple

In the early 90s, Snapple was only on the up; it had a few high-profile ad campaigns that meant it was able to hold its own in the competitive world of juice and soft drinks, making it look like a promising investment opportunity for Quaker Oats. Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan; though Quaker Oats spent $1.7 billion on a deal it thought was a sure thing, after only three years Snapple was sold off again so that Quaker Oats could lick its wounds, for a meager $300 million. Perhaps a little embarrassingly, Snapple is still going strong. It seems that separating was the best thing for both of these brands.

The 2024 CrowdStrike Incident

Before July 19, 2024, few people had ever heard of CrowdStrike. It’s amazing how much damage just one day can do. CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity company based out of Austin, Texas that caused about $10 billion in damage on the morning of July 19. CrowdStrike made an update to its Falcon Sensor software, but a bug caused the software to crash. Systems running Microsoft Windows crashed, resulting in the largest outage in world history. The results were devastating and disrupted nearly all aspects of daily life, upending banks, hospitals, air transport, and retail. It just goes to show how fragile our tech-heavy existence truly is.

Prematurely Clearing the Fire Site

In the 1970s, Luna Park Sydney was one of Australia's most popular amusement parks. A top attraction in the park was the Ghost Train. The disorienting ride took passengers through a dark, winding tunnel full of spine-chilling special effects. Night after night, park-goers enjoyed the thrilling ride. But on June 9, 1979, something went terribly wrong. Multiple people noticed an odd smell and what looked like real fire. Soon, flames enveloped the ride, trapping several passengers inside. Seven people perished. The exact cause was unclear. However, the lead investigator quickly ruled out arson and concluded faulty wiring was to blame. The scene was cleared, leaving many questions unanswered and obliterating any chance of further investigation. Official handling of the case has been heavily criticized.

America Escalating Tensions in Vietnam

The United States entered the Vietnam War following the Gulf of Tonkin incident, where North Vietnamese forces allegedly attacked the U.S. Navy in international waters. The event was framed as an unprovoked attack, but later evidence showed otherwise. While the first attack remains debated, the second one was entirely fabricated. It devolved into a brutal war, which dragged on for years, causing thousands of American and Vietnamese deaths. Along the way, the United States committed atrocious war crimes, such as the My Lai Massacre. Ultimately, the war ended in failure, all spurred by an incident with very little evidence.

Republics Falling to Tyranny

Democratic institutions are only as strong as a nation's willingness to keep it afloat. Instability and internal strife work hand-in-hand to bring democracies to their knees. The Roman and Weimar Republics each struggled with political polarization, economic crises, and corruption. Discontent and distrust in institutions spread like viruses, weaponized by ambitious authoritarians. The Roman Republic’s decline was marked by social unrest and economic inequality. Elites struggled for power. Amidst the chaos, Julius Caesar rose quickly and eventually established imperial rule. Likewise, the Weimar Republic was strangled by hyperinflation and factionalism. Political extremists took advantage of the uncertainty and eventually seized power. In the end, Adolf Hitler rose to prominence, dominating both Germany and most of Europe.

Russia Invades Ukraine

Eight years after annexing Crimea in 2014, Russia followed up with a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin expected the war to end in a matter of days or hours. Instead, as of 2024, it is still dragging on. The death toll of Russian troops is staggering; some estimates suggest that more than 100,000 soldiers have been killed. The attrition rate has forced Russia to conscript new fodder for the war machine. Economically, Russia faces severe sanctions and a crippling recession. Russia has been forced to seek economic aid and military armament from China and North Korea. Western aid to Ukraine has allowed their military, in 2024, to launch the first significant military incursion into Russian territory since World War II.

The Attacks that Created Empires

Attacking first has often determined the outcome of a war. Some of those outcomes, though, weren't so rosy for the attackers. In 1588, Spain’s armada set out to crush England’s growing navy and restore Catholic rule, only to be slammed by powerful storms. Decimated, the survivors were ultimately outmaneuvered by England's smaller ships. Spain's attack led to England's centuries' long dominance over the seas. In 1941, Japan, too, sought to hamstring their naval rival. Their attack on Pearl harbor was swift and devastating. It did not, however, deliver a crippling blow to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Instead, it galvanized America, dragging it into World War II. In each instance, the attacked nation went on to become the world's most formidable superpower.

Titanic Sinks After Iceberg Warnings Are Ignored

Many mistakes were made that caused the Titanic to sink, so it’s difficult to pinpoint just one. Perhaps the most consequential, though, was turning “hard-a-starboard” when they spotted the iceberg, which extended the collision, creating a large gash that flooded five compartments. Had they struck the iceberg head-on, the bow would have been crushed, but only one or two compartments would have flooded. In such an event, the ship could have survived, as it was built to still float with up to four flooded compartments. Also, it carried only 20 lifeboats, enough for about half the passengers. The primary mistake that night was ignoring iceberg warnings and maintaining a high speed throughout. Changing just this one decision could likely have prevented the accident.

Hitler’s Invasion of Russia

A British soldier’s choice to spare the future Fuhrer's life during WWI turned out to be a HUGE blunder. But we’d argue that the most dramatic mistake involving Adolf Hitler was one he made himself. Despite signing a non-aggression pact with Russia, Hitler still considered Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union his enemies. In June of 1941, the Germans invaded Russia. Despite committing the largest invasion force in history, the Germans were unprepared for the Soviets’ scorched earth tactics or the bleak Russian winter, and they experienced over half a million casualties. The offensive split and depleted the German forces, and put Russia on the side of the Allies, which likely lost Hitler the war.

Treaty of Versailles Harsh Terms

The Treaty of Versailles was a deal signed in 1919 at the end of World War 1, which mainly focused on weakening the German Empire. Despite the Austrian-Hungarian Empire being the main instigators, sending a harsh ultimatum to Serbia, the victorious powers primarily blamed Germany. They had to accept full responsibility for starting the war, and were made to pay enormous reparations. This crippled their economy, and fostered resentment towards the victorious powers, which eventually led to Hitler’s rise to power, and World War 2. If the Allies had adopted a less punitive approach, like the U.S. did to Japan after World War 2, the devastating second war, and the rise of Nazi Germany, might have been alternate history.

Mao’s Great Leap Forward

Mao Zedong was the founder of Communist China, who became leader of the CCP during the Long March, a pivotal event in the Second Sino-Japanese War. After Japan’s defeat, he sought to industrialize China, and finally recover from the century of humiliation. He believed rapid industrialization would help them catch up to the West, but it turned into a catastrophic failure. The plan was overly optimistic, and resulted in mass famine and an economic collapse. By 1962, Mao faced criticism for his policies and was sidelined at the Seven Thousand Cadres Conference. This didn’t last long though, as just four years later, he kickstarted the Cultural Revolution, which allowed him to reclaim full control of the nation.

American Invasion of Iraq

The 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was driven by the deadly combination of misleading claims and poor assumptions. The U.S. government convinced their allies that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and had links to terrorism. The Bush Administration's assertions were later proven false. No WMDs were ever found, nor was any evidence linking Iraq to Al-Qaeda. By some estimates, the invasion led to over a million deaths and casualties, as well as widespread destruction and regional instability. The U.S. invasion also ultimately played a crucial role in the rise of ISIS. The economic cost to Americans is hard to pin down, though some experts believe that the war cost taxpayers between one and two trillion dollars.

Caesar Ignores Warnings

Julius Caesar is most famous for sowing the seeds of the Roman Empire, enslaving and slaughtering millions of Gauls, and giving the month of July its name. He was eventually assassinated in 44 BC, which shouldn’t have come as a surprise, since he was given several warnings about it. All of these were dismissed, leading to his death in the Senate, where he was stabbed 23 times. A soothsayer warned him to beware the Ides of March, the eventual date he was killed. His wife Calpurnia had a dream of his death, and insisted he stayed home, but he dismissed her fears. Ultimately, his trusted friend, Brutus, convinced him to come in, which turned out to be the dictator’s final mistake.

AOL Buys Time Warner

In the year 2000, the “Dot Com Bubble” was at its height and it didn’t look like anything would slow down the meteoric rise of the internet. Ultimately, the internet’s development didn’t slow down, but the stock market did, leading to a recession. One of the biggest casualties was the merger of AOL and Time Warner in 2000, which even at the time was viewed by many as being a ridiculous idea. AOL spent a whopping $182 billion on merging with Time Warner, but years on, the companies split again. Today, Time Warner remains a major player in the media business, and while AOL still exists, it’s dead in the water. How the tables turned.

NASA Ignores Challenger Warnings

In 1986, NASA launched the shuttle Challenger, which tragically exploded only 73 seconds after liftoff. The event occurred during a cold morning, which caused the ship’s rubber O-rings to stiffen, leading to a fuel leak that ignited the vessel. All seven crew members perished, marking one of the darkest moments in the history of space exploration. Months earlier, several engineers, including Roger Boisjoly, had warned of an impending failure due to the O-rings’ vulnerability to cold. Boisjoly even wrote a memo outlining this issue, but his concerns were completely ignored. Although a team was formed to address the problem, they lacked adequate support, and the launch proceeded only to end disastrously, like Boisjoly predicted.

Moctezuma II Welcomes the Spanish

Moctezuma II, the Aztec emperor, received Hernán Cortés and his conquistadors in 1519 with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. According to some historians, Moctezuma, influenced by a prophecy suggesting that a god would return in the form of a pale-skinned man, initially saw the Spaniards as divine. Cortés, he thought, could be the incarnation of the Aztec god Quetzalcóatl. He sought to appease them by offering gifts and hospitality, believing this would prevent conflict. Instead, his decision invited invasion. Cortés and his men exploited Moctezuma's hospitality to gather intelligence, gain political leverage, and incite dissent among the Aztecs. The Spaniards spread disease and formed alliances with rivals to the Aztecs. Combined with their superior weaponry, they easily conquered the Aztec Empire completely by 1521.

A B-Day Helped Lose D-Day

On June 6th, 1944, the Allies launched an ambitious operation to retake Western Europe. Known as D-Day, the first landings occurred on the beaches of Normandy, France. The casualties were high, but the operation granted the Allies a foothold that would eventually lead to victory on the Western Front. However, things could have gone very differently. The Germans’ most accomplished general, Erwin Rommel, was in charge of defending the Atlantic Wall against an invasion. However, he’d decided to take leave, as the 6th was his wife’s birthday, and German meteorologists had mistakenly predicted storms for another few weeks - making a seaborne invasion unlikely. Had Rommel been in command, the Allies may never have gotten a beachhead to retake France.

Failing to Secure JonBenét Ramsey’s Crime Scene

On Christmas Day 1996, JonBenét Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado. The case sparked a media frenzy and generated worldwide attention. For decades, investigators and amateur sleuths have tried to unravel the mystery of who killed the child beauty queen. Unfortunately, the initial investigation is riddled with errors. The most critical mistake occurred as soon as the police arrived — they failed to secure the crime scene. Police also neglected to take statements from JonBenét’s parents right away, even though they were behaving in a manner the officers considered unusual. A series of additional mistakes followed. The Boulder police acknowledged these early errors. However, the investigation suffered as a result, and the case remains unsolved.

The Tenerife Airport Disaster

This disaster on Spain’s Canary Islands in March 1977 remains the deadliest accident in aviation history, costing 583 lives. Los Rodeos Airport was congested due to a bomb explosion at Gran Canaria. Exacerbating this was a dense fog rolling into the airport. KLM Flight 4805 took off in the fog and crashed into Pan Am Flight 1736, which was still taxiing on the runway. An investigation found that the accident resulted from critical miscommunication between KLM Captain Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten and air traffic control. Ambiguous and nonstandard wording led Veldhuyzen van Zanten to commence takeoff without proper clearance, resulting in the tragic collision.

Russia Sold Alaska

During the 19th century, the Crimean War caused several countries to begin exerting pressure on Russia through blockades of their sea routes. Because of this, they were unable to properly supply their largest overseas territory, Alaska. To offset this, in 1867, Russia sold the territory to the United States for 7.2 million dollars. While it may have been a smart move at the time for Russia, in retrospect, it’s often seen as a mistake, as the gold and oil discovered in Alaska far exceeds the value it sold for. Not only that, but Russia having a foothold in the North American continent would have caused the Cold War to play out very differently.

Rushed Engineering Collapsing Dams

If history has taught us anything, it's that greed and hubris are often at the heart of human tragedies. The Johnstown Flood, St. Francis Dam failure, and Banqiao Dam disaster were a trio of foreseeable catastrophes. In each case, flawed engineering, poor oversight, and disregard for safety warnings set the stage for massive loss of life. The Johnstown Flood occurred when a poorly maintained dam collapsed, destroying entire towns. Similarly, the St. Francis Dam in California failed due to structural flaws, flooding communities downstream. In China, the Banqiao Dam was overwhelmed by unprecedented rainfall. This exacerbated problems stemming from design failures and political mismanagement, causing the dam to collapse, killing thousands. Though decades apart, these disasters highlight the repeated risk of underestimating nature’s power.

A Mistranslation May Have Caused America’s Nuclear Attacks

After the fall of Hitler's Germany, the Allies issued the Potsdam Declaration demanding Japan's unconditional surrender. The declaration came with a warning: refusal would result in "prompt and utter destruction." The culture of Imperial Japan couldn't tolerate public consideration of surrender. They responded with a statement including the word 'mokusatsu.' The Allies interpreted this as an outright rejection of the Potsdam Declaration. 'Mokusatsu,’ they believed, meant ‘to ignore with silent contempt.’ They acted accordingly, dropping two nuclear bombs. However, some believe foreign minister Tōgō was counseling circumspection and patience. He hoped that the Soviets would mediate a better deal. In the years after the nuclear attack on Japan, people have argued that, by mokusatsu, Japanese leaders just meant “withholding comment.”

The Great Depression (1929-39) & The Great Recession (2007-09)

Time and time again, America and the world pay the price for a cycle of laissez-faire economics and deregulation. In the 1920s, minimal government oversight allowed for rampant speculation and risky investments in the stock market. By the end of the decade, the stock market crashed and spread economic devastation around the world. Similarly, in the early 2000s, decades of financial deregulation enabled irresponsible lending practices. The housing market was utterly poisoned by subprime mortgages, leading to a bubble that burst in 2008. Both crises were fueled by the belief that markets could self-regulate. Unchecked greed and the erosion of safeguards created systemic risks. The resultant unemployment, widespread foreclosures, and economic collapse reflected the dangers of prioritizing short-term profits over long-term stability.

The Salem Witch Trials (1692-93) & The Second Red Scare (1947-57)

Democracy may be a net good, but majoritarianism if left unchecked and under the right circumstances can cause mass hysteria. With a dash of fear and a pinch of paranoia, bad actors could use a desire to root out perceived threats to cause great harm. In Salem, Massachusetts, accusations of witchcraft spiraled out of control. Witch trials led to executions based on flimsy evidence and fear of the supernatural. Centuries later, Senator Joe McCarthyism spearheaded his own witch hunt, this time for communists. Those accused of subversion were blacklisted and persecuted, often without real evidence. In both cases, authorities used public fear to conduct aggressive and unjust campaigns against alleged enemies, ruining lives in the process and fostering deep societal distrust.

Stalin’s Terror Famine

To this day, the Holodomor is considered one of the greatest tragedies of Ukrainian history. From 1932-1933, Joseph Stalin pushed a brutal campaign of forced collectivization and grain requisitioning in Soviet Ukraine. Unfortunately, the country was already in the middle of a food shortage, exacerbated by Stalin's policies. As a result, Ukraine fell into a terrible famine. By the end of 1933, somewhere between 3.5 and 5 million Ukrainians perished due to hunger and related diseases. Stalin refused to provide aid, although Russia continued to export grain. The Holodomor devastated Ukrainian agriculture and local economies, ripping families to pieces and traumatizing a nation.

Apollo 13

The basis of a blockbuster movie starring Tom Hanks, Apollo 13 was destined for the moon in 1970 – but it never made it. Thankfully, unlike many other space failures like the high-profile Challenger and Columbia disasters in 1986 and 2003 respectively, the astronauts in Apollo 13 all survived. The problem was that an oxygen tank had been damaged long before its installation in the spacecraft, which was described as a “bomb” by Commander Jim Lovell. That bomb went off, severely damaging the craft when it was already in space. The crew had to move into the lunar module so they would survive and then loop around the moon to return to Earth.

Trojans Bring In the Horse

This was a mistake so monumental, it became a metaphor for deception that is still widely used today. The ancient city of Troy was first destroyed around 1200 BC, and again by archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the 19th century. According to legend, the Greeks built a giant wooden horse, hid soldiers in it, and presented it to the Trojans as a gift. Believing it to be a symbol of victory, the Trojans brought it into their city, only for Greek soldiers to emerge and decimate Troy. The tale’s authenticity remains heavily debated, with no direct evidence. However, oral history played a central role in the ancient world, which preserved surprisingly truthful elements, suggesting that this tale may have been inspired by real-life events.

Pandemic Response

Human civilization has been ravaged by deadly pandemics over and over throughout history. The Spanish Flu and COVID-19 happened a century apart, but it seems that not everyone chose to learn from the past. Discontent with public health measures spread widely during each pandemic, exacerbating the situation. Governments implemented shutdowns to curb the spread, but uneven compliance and politicized responses prolonged the crises. During the Spanish Flu, anti-mask leagues and public pushback against restrictions mirrored the protests and skepticism surrounding COVID-19 measures. The Spanish Flu eventually subsided as the virus mutated into less lethal strains, whereas COVID-19's global impact was mitigated by vaccines and evolving public health strategies.

A Wrong Turn Started WWI

One of the most famous killings of all time, the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand is usually credited with being the catalyst for World War I. But what some may not know is that it could have been avoided, if not for a wrong turn. The archduke had already survived one assassination attempt with a bomb by the same group while visiting Sarajevo. On the return journey, the archduke’s drivers, who spoke Czech, couldn’t understand their directions for a new route, and took a wrong turn. When they stopped to reorient, it was right next to one of the assassins who promptly pulled out a gun and shot both Ferdinand and his wife.

Human Atrocities

The Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide share chilling similarities in both their origins and outcomes. Both were driven by deeply ingrained ethnic hatred, propaganda, and political manipulation. The Nazis systematically dehumanized Jews through years of anti-Semitic rhetoric. Eventually, they industrialized their bigotry, killing upwards of 12 million people - half of them Jewish. In Rwanda, the Tutsi minority was demonized by extremist Hutu leaders. After ginning up that hatred to a fever pitch, the killing began. In just 100 days, Hutus slaughtered more than 500,000 Tutsis. Both genocides were marked by the use of state machinery to orchestrate mass murder, while other nations stood by, either complicit or indifferent. Both massacres left profound scars and a haunting legacy of loss.

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

Chernobyl’s meltdown was the most destructive nuclear disaster in history, and could have been completely avoided if the proper procedures were followed. The disaster was immediately caused by a safety test, which was meant to be carried out during the day, with a trained crew. Instead, the untrained night crew did the test, with very little time to prepare for and properly carry it out. The Soviets were also secret about their nuclear technology, withholding important information from operators and engineers, who should have understood them. After the explosion, further mistakes were made, like the nearby town of Pripyat not being evacuated until over a full day later. It was the perfect storm of mistakes, leading to one of humanity’s worst disasters.